Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue. (Eugene O'Neil)

Mosaic (Central Arkansas)

March 25, 2009

All of us are looking forward to a special weekend of events in celebration of our 7th Anniversary as a church! I hope you will invite family and friends as well, especially those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ or who are otherwise not connected to a local church, to attend some or all of the events with you. For your convenience, I've listed them below. I look forward to celebrating with you!

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR A PEEK AT OUR 7th ANNIVERSARY POSTER!

7th Anniversary Schedule of Events

1. “Worship Together Live”

Friday (March 27) 7-9:30 pm at Mosaic

Let's have a big turnout for the singers and musicians coming from Nashville to lead us before the throne in a wonderful, extended night of worship! This live concert will feature some of the country’s most respected worship leaders and songwriters including Tim Hughes (Here I Am to Worship, Beautiful One, Everything) and Brenton Brown (Come Now Is the Time to, Hungry, Lord Reign in Me). Invite your family and friends to this free event sponsored in part by World Vision; and visit WLT for more information!

As part of our ongoing effort to catalyze the movement toward multi-ethnic churches throughout the United States and beyond, we will again be hosting a group of church planters and pastors throughout the weekend who are coming to learn from and to see us in action! This group will include denominational leaders from the Evangelical Free Churches of America (EFCA) who will be conducting the denomination's first multi-ethnic church planting boot-camp from May 18 - 22 in Knoxville, TN!

3. Worship ServicesSunday, March 29 (9:00 / 10:45 am)

Both services will feature special music by the choir, a message form Mark DeYmaz and visit by special guest, Pastor Harold Nash (Fellowship Bible Church in NLR), who is coming to share a brief word of reflection and encouragement! Harold was a teaching pastor at Mosaic throughout the first five years of our journey. And by the way, we'll have a little gift for everyone as you leave that morning!4. Special OfferingsSundays, March 15 - April 8 (9:00 / 10:45 am)

Join in sacrificial giving (over and above what you consistently give to the General Fund) to help match or beat a recent $25,000 gift from one of our members! Offering baskets will be passed in these services to receive your sacrificial gifts in this season.

October 29, 2008

Perhaps no message I have given recently has so inspired a renewed faith in our Lord as the one I shared on Sunday, October 19, entitled, More Than a Feeling. The message challenged our members (and, indeed, all Christ-followers) to run to the Lord and not away from Him in this time of economic and financial uncertainty. It exhorted us to put our hope and confidence in the Lord and not the uncertainty of riches. And it provided a specific challenge through which we, as individuals and as a church, can do just that.

Since our treasure reflects our heart (Matthew 6:19, 20), and the greatest commandment (according to Jesus) is that we "... love the Lord with all our heart ..." (Matthew 22:35-38), the elders at Mosaic have issued a specific challenge through which all who call themselves one with us might declare our love, faith and dependence on Him here at the end of the year. In so doing, we are expecting God to so move in us all as to create stories of His goodness, graciousness and compassion toward us as we embrace the challenge to actually increase our individual giving in November and December! In other words, if you give more than you might typically give ... if you give (as directed by God) and perhaps beyond what otherwise (humanly speaking) makes sense, etc., we believe God will not only still provide for you and your needs, i.e., you will still have clothes on your back, a roof over your head, food in your stomach, etc. Indeed, we believe God will bless you with a story(ies) to inspire other believers to step-up and lead out in trusting Jesus at a time when so many are losing hope. And in turn, such stories, we believe, will lead non-believers to Christ! This, then, is our ultimate goal!

In other words, this is a time of potential Kingdom harvest; and Mosaic is determined to lead and light the way!

Such stories are already being generated, as you can hear, for instance, in the intro to the message - the story of Bruce, one of our homeless members who responded so incredibly to the message after the first service last week (listen now). And just three days after I preached the sermon, committing Linda and I to increased giving ourselves, I received news four hours ago that a couple (outside the church and who did not hear the message) will be giving a gift of $36,000 to our church to be proportioned in increments of $1,000 a month in support of my salary, that portion that Linda and I released back to the church in order to hire Steven Weathers in September!

I want you to have such stories to tell, as well.

So, here's what I'm challenging you to do with Mosaic or your own local church in mind.

1. Listen to the message;
2. Take a brief moment after listening to respond by completing a brief survey;
3. Tithe (if you are not already, whether on your net and gross income) in November;
4. Begin to pray and to plan on making a sacrificial gift in December, something beyond what you might have otherwise planned to give.

Following the message, I received an encouraging email from Dan Gaffney, one of our members who is on staff at FamilyLife here in Little Rock. Dan wrote ...

"Thanks you for Sunday's message! Mark, you nailed it! I brought up the 'economic uncertainty' topic with my wife on the way to church. We had already heard some messages from other Christian leaders that shared a similar perspective to what we heard on Sunday, so we felt we had the right attitude and biblical mindset, etc. Yet as we talked further, I asked my wife the following question, “So what do we do about it?” We never actually answered the question, at least in the van ride to church ... until we looked at each other (more than once) during your message. Our hearts resonated with what was communicated! It was absolutely biblical at the core, and it was perfectly practical in answering the big question of what to do about it. I think we were both stunned as we sat in our chairs - by the timing of the sermon and the answer to our own prayer. All that to say, the Gaffneys are in! And we look forward with great expectations to what our King Jesus will do in November and December at Mosaic."

In the coming months, and with this challenge in mind, may we all have such an open, joyful and team spirit as one in Christ and in His Church!

October 08, 2008

As I wrote on September 3, a new chapter began in the life of Mosaic when (that month) we formally enfolded a seven year-old, homogeneous (Latino) congregation of nearly 100 people and two paid pastors - formerly, the Iglesia Nazareno del Samaritano - into our body.

How's it going so far? In a word, great!

Here, then, is a brief, initial evaluation based on some of the seven core commitments of a healthy multi-ethnic church as outlined in my book, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church (Jossey-bass/Leadership Network, 2007).

Empower Diverse Leadership
Both Pastor Osmani Silva and Pastor Jorge Bazan are now fully integrated into our staff team, not only attending but increasingly involved in providing valuable contribution to our weekly meetings. Along this line, we're now constructing offices for them this week in our administration area. And as one of four teaching pastors now serving Mosaic, Pastor Silva attends weekly planning meetings focused on the Sunday services. In pursuit of cross-cultural competency (core commitment #5), Pastor Silva is now teaching a basic course for our staff, a basic introduction to Spanish, on Monday afternoons at 3:00 pm!

Take Intentional Steps, Core Commitment #2
This coming Sunday at 6:00 pm, we will - for the first time - align the teaching that night with that of our 9:00 am and 10:45 am services. In so doing, it is our intention to establish a true, 3rd service option for all people at Mosaic, albeit where - at that hour - English speakers will be the ones wearing headsets through which translation is provided (i.e., in reverse of the 10:45 am format). So while on most occasions, one of three Latino pastors will be speaking at the 6:00 pm service, the message will feature the same passage and principles as will have been preached at the 9:00 am and 10:45 am servce earlier in the day, yet in their own words, style, language and outline.

One concern we are closely watching, however, is the potential for movement of all Latinos from the 10:45 am service to the 12:30 pm venue and/or 6:00 pm 3rd service. In other words, will the Latinos that were already attedning Mosaic prior to the merger soon shift to the all Latino venue or 6:00 pm service? To avoid this, we believe continued communication of our vision and mission of Mosaic, as well as the purposes for the 12:30 pm venue and 6:00 pm service will be critical. Indeed, there are already good signs that what we hope will transpire, is happening.

For instance, via the merger we have added musicians to the church - several Latinos who are now playing (serving) in the 9:00 am and 10:45 am services, and then attending the 12:30 pm venue for worship, themselves. In another instance, a Latino family that for years has regularly attended the 10:45 am service, is now serving in the 12:30 pm venue. So, again, such people model an intended outcome for others and (we hope) will help shape the future of our church.

Promote a Spirit of Inclusion, Core Commitment #6
At Mosaic, all members have pre-printed nametags awaiting their arrival each Sunday. After several weeks of gathering basic information, all those enfolded through the merger now have nametags, as well.

And finally ...

Years ago, I heard a pastor say, "Numbers say something, they don't say everything." To this day, I think his words provide those who might otherwise lean one way or the other, a great deal of balance and perspective on the matter. With this in mind, then, and for those interested, the 12:30 pm venue - a time primarily focused on evangelism and enfolding of first generation (1.0) Latinos - has grown through the weeks from an initial 60 or so attenders to 119 this past Sunday. And this past week, the 6:00 pm service had slightly more than 100 folks in attendance, with a good mix of English speakers, too.

That said, and with the help of the merger, I am encouraged to report that Mosaic broke 600 in attendance for the first time in its history this past Sunday.

January 23, 2008

This past Sunday - well, now that I think about, this past weekend was an extremely busy one for me. My daughter, Emily, who plays on the Varsity basketball team at her school, had an away game Friday night - one that was nearly three hours away - and consequently, I was involved from 4 p.m. - 11 p.m. On Saturday morning, my son, Will, had two basketball games, one at 8 a.m. and another at 10 a.m. And then later that afternoon, my youngest daughter, Kate, played in two games herself at 2 p.m and 4 p.m - and I'm her coach! Needless to say, by the time Sunday morning rolled around, I was thrilled to go to church just to get some rest.

So somehow, with all the activity of the weekend and an already packed Sunday morning agenda, I failed even to mention or otherwise publicly recognize the Martin Luther King holiday this year. In fact, it wasn't until Monday evening that I was reminded of this as I watched the news and reviews of remarks made earlier in the day by presidential candidates anxious to recognize (before a viewing public) the truly significant impact of MLK upon North American society.

Now, throughout the years, we have often recognized such holidays and the otherwise special months or occasions that are important to varying people groups at Mosaic. In so doing, it's not necessarily that we feel obliged, it's more just something we just like to do in pursuit of cross-cultural competence. So when I realized that I had missed the moment this time, it's not so much that I worried about reaction or that I felt any measure of politically correct guilt, etc.; it's just that I would have mentioned it had I been more proactive than reactive throughout the weekend.

With this in mind, I was having lunch with a member of our church today. And while reflecting on the growing interest in the multi-ethnic church throughout North America, he reminded me that such statements of personal endorsement or holiday recognition are too often made by those attempting only to show respect from a distance, that is, those who are not otherwise influenced or invested in the very persons and/or causes they seem to celebrate.

He then said, "On the other hand, we live the dream every day at Mosaic, Mark. And who we are speaks louder than words. Who we are is our statement!"

Wow, I thought, what a good word.

So in the future, we'll continue to recognize the contributions of MLK and to recognize the holidays and otherwise special months or occasions that are important to the people of Mosaic. Yet, in those times where less is said, for whatever reason, those of us engaged in multi-ethnic churches will do well to remember that who we are and still striving to become, indeed, says it all.

December 05, 2007

"Not long after Mosaic moved into the old Wal-Mart building, we recognized that the time had come to buy chairs for the congregation. Having met for eighteen months in the sanctuary of an existing church, we had never needed chairs. Following the move, however, members of our church were asked to bring their own chairs to worship each week; and this they did, carrying them in one way or another like parents to a soccer game or families to a picnic. Most often, these chairs were the kind that easily fold open and break down, the ones that are carried in a little bag or stuff sack. Some of them even had footrests and cup-holders. I’ll never forget one woman who was pregnant at the time; she lay back in a chair, listening to the sermon with her feet propped up, sipping water from a large container through a straw!

"Having determined to buy four hundred chairs, we ordered one chair as a sample to show the congregation. One Sunday morning, I put it up on the platform and explained that we would need to collect $25 from every person in order to cover the cost of the chairs. I added that our staff liked both the look and the feel of the chair and had even tested it out earlier in the week. “You know,” I said, settling comfortably into the chair, 'it feels pretty good to my buns!' When I did, the congregation laughed a bit, so I went on to milk the moment. 'In fact, not only have I sat my buns in the chair, but most of the staff has sat their buns in the chair. And they, too, think it feels pretty good!' More laughter. 'Now some on our staff have bigger buns than others,' I said, “but even the biggest buns among us agree. So after the service, why don’t you come and sit your buns, big or small, in the chair and tell us what you think!'

"By this time, the congregation was fully animated, as I probably used the word buns six or seven times for comic effect. Yes, everyone in the room—the Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Cubans, those from the Middle East, Europe, and Africa—were all fully engaged and laughing—everyone, that is, except the Mexicans. No, they were not at all amused. Although my comments had been simultaneously interpreted into Spanish, apparently something had been lost in translation!

"Now Inés Velasquez-McBryde, Mosaic’s Director of Cross-Cultural Ministries, is a very skilled interpreter. Having grown up in Nicaragua, she began translating English to Spanish at the age of eleven, serving alongside her father in working with North American mission teams coming into the country. She is much more than a translator; she has an excellent command of common language, as well as theological concepts. On this day, however, even Inés was to learn something new!

"Following the service, one of the Mexican women frantically approached Inés and, grabbing her by the arm, said, 'Don’t ever say that word again!' Her tone of voice told Inés that something was the matter. After some discussion, the woman fi nally calmed down but only when she realized the problem. You see, in translating the word buns, Inés had used the term nalgas, which in most countries throughout Central and South America carries, in tone and tenor, a force equivalent to the English term buns. Yet in Mexico, the term is more vulgar; it’s equivalent to the English word ass!

"Now I want you to imagine for a moment, your pastor getting up on a Sunday morning and saying, 'You know, this chair feels pretty good to my ass! In fact, not only have I sat my ass in the chair, but most of the staff has sat their ass in the chair, as well. . . . Now some on our staff have bigger asses than others, but even the biggest asses among us agree! So after the service, why don’t you come and sit your ass, whether big or small, in the chair and tell us what you think.'

"This is exactly what the Mexicans heard me say that day! For within the Spanish language, there are variations in dialect, word meaning, and usage across regions, countries, and continents. Fortunately, the Mexicans forgave us, and through this experience, we learned a valuable lesson in pursuit of cross-cultural competence.

"The understanding we need to be effective in a cross-cultural environment is gained through experience and interaction with diverse people, especially with those who are one in the Lord. To build a healthy multi-ethnic church, then, we must commit ourselves to the pursuit of cross-cultural competence, whether that means becoming profi cient in the idiosyncrasies of language or the ins and outs of customs and traditions different from our own. Once acquired, cross-cultural competence allows us to interact in a more informed and effective way with others of varying ethnic or economic backgrounds. Though the challenge is formidable, the journey to acquire it, as we have seen, is not without its lighter moments! Indeed, in many ways cross-cultural competence is more caught than taught."

November 21, 2007

Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church, is filled with stories of life-change and transformation in Christ such that we are experiencing in the multi-ethnic environment of Mosaic. Apparently, these stories have stirred the hearts of readers who are now asking for more information concerning where these people are now, i.e., "So, what happened next?"

With this in mind, I recently asked Georgia Mjartan, whose story of coming to Christ is told in the book (pp. 79-80), if I could use part of an email I received from her recently to share how God has brought things full circle for her and a friend (name withheld) who has now, too, found a home at Mosaic. In the following exchange, see how God has used Georgia to reconnect this woman to a Christ-centered community of faith.

Here's what Georgia wrote ...

"Dear Mark,

"My friend (name withheld), who came to church with me yesterday, is going to join Mosaic. When she was leaving the church, she said she filled out the newcomer’s card and that there was a question on it which said, 'Are you looking for a church home?' She told me that as she read this, she wanted to answer 'no' because she had already found her church home—Mosaic! She knew it was her home, even just on her first visit.

"To give you a little context, her husband of thirty years died about a year and a half ago. He was a wonderful and truly Christian man, and it is a very sad loss that he is gone. I am so thankful that she (has) found a community in Mosaic.

"This morning, (name withheld) sent me a link to her blog. I wanted to share it with you because I think that one of the things that Mosaic has done for me is to teach me—to equip me—with the tools to be able to go out into the world and be a light to other people. That is certainly not something I ever thought I would be comfortable doing, especially with my background. The thought of 'evangelizing' always turned me off (and) I never would have thought that God would use me to bring back someone who was lost and disconnected! (Anyway, I am) so thankful that He did and thankful to you, Harry and others in the church for equipping me and preparing me to be used in this way."

Here then is what Georgia's friend wrote on a Sunday night following her experience with Georgia at Mosaic ...

" ... So what do I mean by this being a time of surprises? This morning I heard a preacher say that the way God works is quite often a surprise to us, not the way we would choose to do something.

"(Now) I have known for some time that I need to get involved in a setting that provids community, especially since I live alone. Though I have lots of wonderful friends who have been very supportive, they live in Arkadelphia or Avilla or West Little Rock or Germany—or they have really busy lives or new children or high stress jobs. So I have needed to make additional connections and I have explored some things, but nothing felt like home.

"Today I think I found 'home'—and the surprise, or one of them, came in how I ended up there.

"My sweet, wonderful, young friend Georgia, whom I met about nine years ago when we both started the Donaghey Scholars Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and who once asked me kindly to remove her name from the list of Christian focused emails I sometimes forwarded because she wasn't a Christian, invited me to her church! She kept touching base with me about my need for community and companionship, providing it when she could, but nudging me to take steps toward finding my niche. And this morning she picked me up for church!

"I won't tell you her story (you can read it for yourself), but I will say that I know God has worked through her to help me find what I need now. And I am confident that I will find the community I need (at Mosaic), and that when I am stronger or even in my weakness, I will be able to extend that community to others also!"

According to our faith, the word of God never returns void. And as this story illustrates, God is always at work (whether we realize it or not) in and through the faitfhulness of His people. So let us keep speaking, writing, sharing, caring and going, etc., in His name. Indeed, we are all the better for it.

For Mark DeYmaz, spending tens of millions of dollars to construct a fancy mega-church at a high-profile location simply doesn't make a whole lot of sense, even if the money is readily available.

And though there are plenty of highly visible examples of enormous church buildings stretching skywards along dramatic hilltops and beside heavily traveled interstates, there are ministries taking the opposite approach by quietly taking over and revitalizing ghostly commercial structures and former retail spaces.

DeYmaz, teaching pastor and founder of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, and his membership currently occupy a former 80,000-SF Wal-Mart store on Col. Glenn Road and recently locked into a deal to purchase the abandoned Kmart complex at the corner of University and Asher avenues for a permanent home. DeYmaz says his congregation is just practicing what it preaches.

"We preach the resurrection of Christ, and we want to live that and demonstrate and represent that in everything we do," he said. "One way to physically represent that is to find these abandoned properties in somewhat neglected parts of the city and turn the lights on and provide a church where we can meet and celebrate. It's a physical manifestation of the resurrection, and is largely symbolic of what we preach."

April 18, 2007

This short video was created to share the people and the passion of Mosaic and, as well, our desire to permanently locate our church in the heart of Little Rock's University District. The 72204 zip code borders an area with the highest instance of violent crime in the city, includes 21.5% of people living at or below the poverty level, the homeless, drug and alcohol adicted and prostitution. With your help, we can turn the old K-Mart into a Center of Life in this desperately needed area of the city and in so doing, physically demonstrate the power of resurrection through the conversion of the facility from a place that once sold goods to all people into a place that will share the love of God with all people. To learn more about the 72204 mission or to get involved with us financially, visit our website at www.mosaicchurch.net.

February 14, 2007

The Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas is a multi-ethnic, economically diverse church established by men and women seeking to know God and to make Him known through the pursuit of unity in accordance with the prayer of Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23) and patterned after the New Testament at Antioch (Acts 11:19-26; 13:1ff.)

It is important to understand that Mosaic is not a church focused on racial reconciliation. Rather, we are focused on reconciling men and women to God through faith in Jesus Christ and reconciling ourselves collectively to the pattern of the New Testament local church as prescribed by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.